Bill Toomey, Rachel Holmes & Dr. Rich Hallett

1. Bill Toomey & Rachel Holmes
The Nature Conservancy
Dr. Richard Hallett USFS
© Sergio Pucci / TNC; © Chris Helzer / TNC; © Nancy Sefton
Healthy Trees
Healthy Cities

2. The Nature Conservancy conserves the lands and waters
on which all life depends
GLOBAL REACH
The largest
conservation
non-profit in the
world
PLACE-BASED EXPERIENCE
At work in the US and in
more than 35 countries
SCIENCE-BASED KNOW-
HOW
Home to 600 scientists
NETWORK OF
RELATIONSHIPS
Powered by our partners,
1,350 trustees and
1 million members
OUR WORLD

3. Healthy Trees, Healthy CitiesHealthy Trees, Healthy Cities
Creating a culture of stewardship that engages urban
youth and community members in the planting, care,
and stewardship of urban trees and forests to improve
the health of people and their communities 3

4. Protecting coastal
communities
Alleviating poor air
quality and heat islands
Connecting people with
nature
Safeguarding urban
biodiversity
Improving water quality
& mitigating flooding
Nature’s Solutions For Resilient
Cities

5. INTEGRATE NATURAL SOLUTIONS INTO CITIES TO
MAKE THEM
RESILIENT TO URBANIZATION, NATURAL
DISASTERS, AND CLIMATE CHANGE
LIVABLE
BY ADDRESSING CHRONIC PUBLIC
HEALTH ISSUES SUCH AS AIR QUALITY
AND HEAT ISLAND EFFECT
FLOURISH
BY REIMAGINING A CITY AS A PLACE.
ENGAGING CITIZENS AND FOCUSING
ON HEALTH & WELLBEING

6. RESILIENT CITIES NETWORK

7. HTHC Internship

8. Urban Tree Health Monitoring
Non-Stressor Specific Evaluation of Tree Health
Images Courtesy of Dr. Rich Hallett, USFS
Tree 65
Stress Index 1.3
Tree 36
Stress Index -0.783

9. 9
Field Work
Urban Tree Health Monitoring (USFS)
• UTHM Protocol (USFS)/ Tree Kit Method
• NYC: The Bronx and Manhattan (Trees
Count! Street Tree Census)
• Philadelphia: City-wide
• Community Engagement
Hurricane Sandy Impact Study (USFS)
[NYC Only]
• UTHM Protocol (USFS) & Chlorophyll
Fluorescence
• London Plane Trees and Red Maples
• NYC: Queens
9

10. Geographies served: New York City (NYC); Philadelphia (Phil)
Recruitment: Job Websites, Nature.org, Colleges/Universities; LEAF
Network; Targeted Outreach
Selection Process: Application, Phone Interview, In-Person Interview
Duration of internship: 8 weeks (June – August)
# of interns: 20 (Phil – 12; NYC – 8)
Crew Composition: 4 Interns; 1 Crew Supervisor
# of Crews: 5 (Phil – 2; NYC – 3)
Ages of interns: College Sophomore – College Graduate
Initial Training: 5 days total – 2 days introduction to urban forestry; 2 days
in-class tree health monitoring/ early pest detection; 1 day “on the job
training” in data collection methods

11. Survey Protocol Components
Minimum Data Set Tree Health Monitoring Signs of Pests/
Diseases
Chlorophyll
Fluorescence
 Diameter at breast
height (DBH)
 Genus/Species
 Location
o GPS
o Tree Kit
Method
o Address
 Discoloration
 Defoliation
 Fine Twig Dieback
 Crown Light
Exposure
 Vigor Rating
 Transparency
 Exit holes
 Oviposition sites
 Galleries
 Frass
 Exudation
 Bark Fissures
 Epicormic Sprouts
 Presence of Adult
insects
 Tree Location
 Photosynthetic
efficacy (using PEA
handheld
fluorescence
meter)

12. Signs of Pests/Diseases

13. Striking a Balance:
Conservation Outcomes &
Youth Development
Outcomes

14. • 10 Capstone Projects including social science, urban planning,
community engagement, public policy, environmental education
Youth leadership
development
• 5 skill-building workshops (Successful Hiring; Public
speaking/presentations; GIS; Linked In; Feedback)
Employment
skills
• Regular visits with TNC staff and partners
• 3 Graduate school visits [NYC & Phil]
Engage
Exposure to
employment and
educational opps
• Urban Nature Photography Contest (NYC)
• 90% Self-reported Increase in Awareness of Urban Nature
EmpowerAwareness of
Urban Nature
• Two Major Phone App Updates
• Multiple Educational Resources for Diverse Audiences
Resources
Development
• 6815 Trees [NYC – 3950 trees; Phil – 2690 trees; Queens – 175]
• 75 City Street Miles [NYC – 29 m (58 Plots); Phil – 46 m (92 plots)]
Tree Health
Monitoring/ Early
Pest Detection
Internship Outcomes
14

15. Urban Tree Health Assessment
Advancing new paradigms in
the science of urban forest
ecology through novel tree
health assessment methods.
Moving beyond science
delivery and towards public
participation in the
production and use of
knowledge.

16. Healthy StressedScience Based

17. Sampling Design

18. 18

19. Phone app that will calculate a stress index for each
tree providing immediate feedback to the user.
Variable Notes
Dieback Visual estimate
Transparency Digital estimate
Discolor Visual estimate
Crown Vigor Visual estimate
Tree 36
Stress Index -0.783
Tree 71
Stress Index -.409
Tree 45
Stress Index -0.191
Tree 77
Stress Index 0.81
Tree 65
Stress Index 1.3
Tree 75
Stress Index -0.009
We are creating a scientific framework to analyze and
report the data back out to scientists, managers and
professionals in ways that are meaningful and rigorous.

21. Variable NYC PHL
# Trees 3750 2690
# plots 58 100
Avg trees/plot 64.7 37.5
Min (trees/plot) 7 1
Max (trees/plot) 134 114
Species (#) 92 87

26. Looking Forward